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Famiclone
by Steepler Ltd.. Dendy famiclones are still popular in Eastern Europe, with a lot of related fansites, even if Steepler is closed.]] A famiclone is a type of clone console compatible with Famicom or NES games (or both, which is rare). As Nintendo's patents on the hardware have expired, it is now legal to sell any famiclone that does not have pirated software built in. Hardware ).]] The earliest famiclones, usually made in Taiwan, were a more or less exact copy of the original hardware, using cloned chips usually manufactured by UMC. However, later famiclones produced since the mid-late 90s usually incorporate the entire system into a single small chip, known as a NES-on-a-chip (NOAC) design, which is much cheaper to produce and much smaller (allowing for more creative and compact console designs) but less faithful recreation of the original console, leading to compatibility problems. There are also DVD and VCD players, as well as certain portable media players (often marketed as "MP5" players), which can play NES/Famicom games via DVDs, CD-ROMs, or through mass storage media, although they usually contain (often slow) emulators rather than an actual hardware clone. These are more common in the Far East than anywhere else. VT02/VT03 & OneBus The OneBus hardware is essentially a modified Famicom, designed by the Taiwanese company V.R. Technology. Its standard Famiclone system is called the VT02. Unlike the Famicom which has separate banks for the programming and graphics, (named the PRG and CHR banks) the OneBus combines the two, meaning that only one bus is required, hence the name. The VT03 has better graphical capabilities than standard Famicom hardware, allowing for up to 16 colors per graphical tile as opposed to 4 (in both cases, one color is transparent). It was developed in collaboration with JungleTac and Hummer Technology. There is an emulator for the OneBus called EmuVT, made by JungleTac in 2006 and credited to Wise Wang. Appearance Older famiclones, like the Dendy Junior, usually looked nearly identical the original Famicom, while newer ones are sometimes designed to resemble a more recent console - famiclones have been modeled after nearly every mainstream post-Famicom console, from the Mega Drive to the PS4, although many original designs have also been created. More recent clones are often self contained within a controller, handheld console or other more specialized hardware (such as a keyboard or dance mat), either with (albeit with a proprietary cartridge slot, along with an adapter for regular Famicom games) or without a cartridge slot. Software Until about 2000, the majority of famiclones with built-in games only included pirated copies of licensed software - often with greatly inflated game counts - with a few notable exceptions; however, after this point some clones began to incorporate games with graphics and music hacked to disguise their origins (most of which are made by Inventor), and later completely original games. Some of these original games are produced by Waixing or Nice Code Software, such as those on the 8-bit Vii (not to be confused with Kensington/JungleTac's Vii). List of Famiclones "Licensed" Systems These consoles feature officially licensed software from actual game companies (but not Nintendo). * Atari Flashback - collection of Atari 2600 and 7800 games, ported by Nice Code. * Basic Fun Mini Arcade Machines - Released in Q-Bert and Centipede variants. Q-bert is the standard NES game, and Centipede is from the Atari Flashback. * Basic Fun Atari Keychains - Tiny keychains of Atari joysticks. Different ports than the Flashback. * Coleco Head-to-Head - Features games loosely based on late 70s sports handhelds from Coleco. * "Commodore 64" 5-in-1 - Quietly released Famiclone featuring ports of "Colosoftware" C64 games. Developer is unknown. * Konami Plug 'n Plays - Sold in 1 (Frogger) and 5-in-1 variants. Feature three standard NES games and three arcade games, ported by JungleTac. * Dance Dance Revolution systems - Running on VT03 hardware. There are Mickey Mouse and Strawberry Shortcake versions. * Data East Pixel Classics - Made by DreamGEAR; features 8 Data East NES games and 300 Nice Code and Inventor games. * My Arcade Micro Players - Tabletop arcade machines made by My Arcade (DreamGEAR). About a dozen have been produced, including Pac-Man, BurgerTime, and Mappy among others. Of a rather high quality compared to most other Famiclones. * Play Power Intellivision - Sold in 10, 15, and 25-in-1 variants. Features Intellivision games, ported by Nice Code. * VG Pocket - A line of JungleTac systems with various game licenses from Konami, Data East and Taito, in addition to generic games. Licensed by Nintendo These consoles run on Famiclone-style hardware, but were licensed by Nintendo for official distribution. *'Comboy' (South Korea, made by Hyundai) *'Sharp Famicom Titler' *'Sharp Famicom TV' - Released in North America as the Sharp Nintendo Television. *'Sharp Twin Famicom' Home Systems *'AB Standard 8 Bit' *'Action+Super 6' *'Asahi VCD' *'Beta 5' *'Bit Game' *'Bit System' *'Blazepro' *'Boss 3800a' *'Bromark BM 1500' *'Castle Supergame' *'Chaoba YF 3000 Television Computer System' *'Chin Laser' *'Classical TV Game Player TY 22' *'Console TV' by Advance Bright Limited - contains hacked games *'Console TV Challenge' - contains steering wheel *'Console TV Play Stadium' *'Crazy Boy' *'Cyber Boy' *'Deluxe Arcade Power Player' *'Dendy' (Russia, by Steepler Ltd.) **'Dendy'/'Dendy Classic' - Rebranded Micro Genius IQ-501 **'Dendy Classic II' - Rebranded Micro Genius IQ-502 **'Dendy Junior' - Unknown Micro Genius? **'Dendy Junior II' **'Dendy 2/Dendy 8' - Not produced by Steepler, uses MegaDrive layouts. **'Dendy Star Trek' **Dendy Master **Dendy Mario *'Digitron Wireless Xtreme' *'Dinosaur' *'Dinostar' *'Dongsheng' *'Dynavision' - Brazilian Famiclone. **'dynavision (2)' **'dynavision 3' **'dynavision remake' *'Eastern Computer' *'Ending Man JJ-80-50' *'Ending Man S-700' *Entertainment System *'ES Game Funplayer' *'ES Game Polyvox' *'Extreme Box' *'Factor 5' - Not to be confused with the company of the same name *'Famulator' *'Family Boy' *'Family Computer' - The reason why it has the same name as its original is unknown. *'Family Game' *'Family Game Action Set' *'Family Game Selection Set' *'FC Compact' *'FC Compact II' *'Mini FC Compact' *'FC Game Console' *'Funtime' *'GA-886' *'Game 2008' *'Game Boy' - Not to be confused of the portable console by Nintendo of the same name *'Game City' *'Game Corner' *'Game Corner Funmachine' *'Game Power 2' *'Game Star Advance' *'Game Station 3' *'Game World 98' *'Gamebox' *'Gamezone' *'Gamezone 2' *'GB Turtle' *'Generation NEX' (Plays both NES and Famicom carts, supposedly VT03 compatible) *'Geniecom' *'Geniecom 3' *'GLK 98' *'Golden China' (South Africa) *'Good Boy' *'GVC Nintendo' *'Hi Top' *'Hitex' *'Home Computer 3600' *'Hot Boy' *'HT 767 Television Computer System' *'Inteltron 7000' *'Interstellar Fighter' *'IQ301 Computer Game' *'IQ502' *'Jamiko Neo Boy' *'Joy Kid' *'King Game VI' *'Kingo Game Player' *'KK 128-In-1 Game Player' *'KR 300' *'Lifa 882' *'Likey PSX' *'Liming' *'Lin Tong 777' *'Magistr' series - Russia, by New Game. *'Micro Genius series' (Worldwide, sold under different names in some countries) *'N-Joypad' - fake CD-based system by Advance Bright Limited *'NASA Entertainment Computer System' - both 60 & 72 pin slots http://www.nesworld.com/pirate-ns90a.php *'Newtendo Super Famcom' *'Nichiman' (Colombia) (Rebranded Micro Genius) *'Pegasus' (Poland, by Bobmark International) **'Pegasus MT777DX' (Similar to Famicom) **'Pegasus IQ-502' (More modern design, with round controllers resembling the ones used in SNES - rebranded Micro Genius) *'Phantom System' – Made in Brazil by Gradiente *'Play & Power I' *'PolyStation' **'PolyStation 64: The Power Machine' **'PolyStation II' **'PolyStation III' **'PolyStation III Super Soccer system' **'Kombat-8' **'Dendy 3' - Not produced by Steepler *'PS-Kid' - By Cheer-Tech http://www.nesworld.com/pirate-pskid.php *'Retrocon' - by Blaze http://www.nesworld.com/pirate-rcon.php *Saint Dragon Electron *'Subor' (Various models - from China, related to Waixing, often sold in Russia) *'Top Game' – Models VG-8000 and VG-9000 (dual slot), Made in Brazil by CCE *'Ultra 8 Bit' AKA Arcade Action **'Mega Arcade Action' / Arcade Action 2 (OneBus based, 101 in 1 cart with hacked games + one original) *'Vii' (8-bit version) (China) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12AEdUzveJ4 - by Power King/Xinan Industry Co., Ltd *8 BIT (Argentina) - by ApevTech Multi-system These are compatible with more than one console's cartridges, and are particularly popular in the US but have seen limited release elsewhere (so are usually found with 72-pin NES ports rather than 60-pin Famicom ones). *'FC 3 Plus' - NES/Famicom + SNES/Super Famicom + Mega Drive/Genesis (+ "G-Factor", Qi Sheng Long's cartridges) *'FC Twin Video Game System' - NES/Famicom + SNES/Super Famicom *'GN Twin' - NES/Famicom + Mega Drive/Genesis *'Retro Duo' - NES/Famicom + SNES/Super Famicom *'RetroN 3' - NES/Famicom + SNES/Super Famicom + Mega Drive/Genesis Lock-on These use another console for display & controls. *'Tristar' / Super 8 - for SNES *'Tristar 64' - NES/FC + SNES clone, for N64 Portable Systems *'CoolBoy' - The name of various different handheld systems created by Subor/Waixing, including: **Standard Famicom cart version - also known as FC Mobile, Famizero Portable, Poke Boy http://takahanada.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-506.html, and distributed by New Game as Dendy Megaboy. A 72-pin NES version was released by Hyperkin in the US under the FC Mobile name. ** Proprietary cart version - uses small carts resembling the GBA's. Some contain Waixing/Nice Code games, others pirate Famicom games. **'2PG' - Compatible console resembling a PSP **'Game Prince' - 152-in-1 handheld. *[[Play Vision Portable (PVP)|'PVP Station']] series - Line of PSP-shaped handhelds. At least 20 different models exist, each with different game lists. *'FC-Portable' http://toysking.ocnk.net/product/62 http://yurari5227307.hamazo.tv/e1923377.html by Qi Sheng Long http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/309186161/8_Bit_TFT_Nes_Fc_Portable_Game_Console.html *'FC Mobile II' - includes a gun and two wireless controllers. Both 72 & 60 pin versions available, made by Qi Sheng Long. Also known as PokeFami in Japan (not to be confused with the PocketFami, which is also called "PokeFami" in Japanese) http://akibamap.info/archives/51306214.html *'GameAxe' *'GameKing III' (by Timetop, there's a non-NES clone console with the same name. GameKing I and II also exist, but these play proprietary games similar to those on the Game Boy). *'Game Theory Admiral' *'Gamespower 50' - by JungleTac *'Pocket Boy FC-360' http://blog.livedoor.jp/geek/archives/50760322.html *'PocketFami' (AKA PokeFami, by GameTech, distributed in the UK by Blaze) *'VG Pocket Max' by JungleTac *'GB Station "Light"' *'DreamGEAR My Arcade Handhelds' *'Multicade 230' *'FC Pocket' Lock-on These use another handheld for a display. *'AdFami' (aka GBA Time Machine) - for the GBA, by Gametech *'Famulator Lite' - for the DS Lite, by Cyber Gadget *'Handy FamiEight' - for the GBA SP, by Dragon Multi-system *'Action Gamemaster' - By Active Enterprises; massively unrealistic, never released. *'One Station' - Theoretically unlimited, as the console hardware is built into the cartridges rather than the console. Hybrid systems These play Famicom games on a TV but have a built in LCD "brick game" for portable play; portable Famiclones weren't available at the time of their release. *'Polystation Advance' *'Power Joy series' - by Trump Grand Manufacturing Co.: **'Power Joy Voyager' **'Power Joy III' Standard controller-based systems (Plug 'N Play) *'120 in 1 Plug And Play' - distributed by Bluetek, takes the shape of a Dreamcast controller. *'Game Stick' *'Mega Joy' (I & II) *'Micro Genius IQ-901' *'Power Player Super Joy III' *'Rumble Station' - Games by Color Dreams *'DreamGEAR My Arcade Series' *'Super Joy' *'gunboy (n64 controller)' *'Vs. Maxx Series' Controller-based with Built-in Lightgun *'GunBoy' by Advance Bright Limited. **'Twin LightBlaster Joypad' - Shaped like GunBoy, built-in hacks and a cartridge slot. *'Power Joy' series - Manufactured by Trump Grand. **'Power Joy' / Power Joy II - 10 hacks built-in, only included cartridge differs. **'Power Joy Supermax' - 60+30 game cartridges included, OneBus-based. *'Gun Fighter' - Same shape as the GunBoy, except it's blue instead of red. Includes 64 games, which are a mixture of hacks, official Famicom games and Nice Code originals. Distributed by Tevion Gaming. Joysticks *'88 Games' - by Macro Winners. *'Air Blaster' by Advance Bright Limited. *'Arcade TV Game Set '''by Advance Bright Limited. Steering wheels *'Venturer Super Start all-in-one''' Dance mats *'Dance Party 3' / Dance Master 3 by Advance Bright Limited. *Twin Dancers by Advance Bright Limited. Keyboards *'Subor' series *'Gold Leopard King' series http://www.nesworld.com/pirate-glk2003.php *'Mega Kid MK-1000' Miscellaneous / uncategorised External link *Ultimate Console Database list of famiclones See also *Clone consoles Category:Consoles Category:Famiclones Category:Hardware